Beyond the Frame: The Beauty of Things That Have Grown Old
Photograph: Timeworn trolley car, Orange Empire Railway Museum, May 1995 Over 30 years ago, I was exploring a large barn full of old trolley cars and buses, all of them with texture and detail that begged me to stop and take photographs. I was participating in a group photography trip, and I blissfully had this barn to myself. As I meandered among the 1920s-era trolleys, I saw this intersection of orange and red panels, divided by a peeling wood frame. The barn had translucent panels in the roof, which provided warm, filtered light to this trolley detail, and I knew I had my shot. While my mind coaxed me to touch the weathered surfaces, my artistic side urged me to appreciate what I saw from within the frame of my camera. I set up my camera, worked up the angular composition, checked the lighting with my light meter, and took the photograph. I did not take a second photograph—something in me told me that what I had shot was good enough. And back then, during those days of film photogra...
